Former Akron Zips running back Quentin Hines, an undrafted free agent, agreed to terms with the New England Patriots at the conclusion of the weekend’s NFL Draft, according to a source.

Hines, who saw limited action with the Zips gaining 194 yards on 35 carries for a 6.5 average was one of 16 free agents that the Pats signed. He grabbed the attention of NFL teams with freakish numbers in his pro day at UA in which he ran a sub 4.4 40-yard dash and had a standing long jump of more than 11-feet. He reports to the Patriots in two weeks.

The Zips will take the filed against one another in the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game at InfoCision Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday. Here are several things Zips fans should look for:

Quarterback play: Sophomore Kyle Pohl is the starter, but pay attention to whether he's comfortable running the offense and if he's developed any chemistry with receivers. Behind him look at how Dalton Easton, the No.2 quarterback for now and Steve Franco, No. 3 play.

Overall practice proved spirited Thursday as the offense and defense got at one another. Here’s guessing that there is more than a bit of anticipation ahead of Saturday’s annual Blue & Gold Game set for 1 p.m. at InfoCision Stadium.

Offense: It looked better today for several reasons, the first being that the quarterbacks got time to throw courtesy of the team’s offensive line. That had been a problem in recent practices as presumptive starter Kyle Pohl and his would be back ups got the chance to show what they and the receivers could do. Of particular note: fifth-year senior Jerrod Dillard made a couple of nice catches and tacked on some yards after the catch in the process. Andrew Pratt made a nice grab of a 30-yard pass from backup Dalton Easton as well. That’s progress and had the offensive line not provided the time to scan the defense it might have been a different story.

It’s a tired refrain but the offense remains the focus for the Akron Zips in practice as the defense continued to show dominance. Zips fans should get used to that until the fall rolls around. This is in no way the finished team and a number of players will be arriving for training camp to bolster the roster.

Offense today: There wasn’t much in the way of sustainability. Although there were a couple of plays that stood out, including a strike over the middle from backup quarterback Dalton Easton to D.J. Jones, for the most part the performance proved bland. One of the problems is lack of consistent play from wide receivers. It’s noticed in players such as fifth-year senior Jerrod Dillard who grabbed nine TDs last year, but isn’t a player who excels in practice. Case in point: on a pattern to the end zone, had Dillard leaped for the pass over a DB who was at least five inches shorter than he, the offense would have had a TD. It’s one of those nagging things the Zips will have to work on.

AKRON, Ohio- Christi Smith, The University of Akron's first individual national champion and female U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, will be one of seven athletes inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame in May, the league office announced Thursday.

The University of Akron men's soccer team announced its 2013 schedule Thursday.

Ten home games – including visits from NCAA Tournament qualifiers Michigan State, VCU and Wake Forest – a trio of challenging early season tournaments and four matches against the Big Ten highlight the schedule, first-year Zips head coach Jared Embick announced.

Coach Terry Bowden took advantage of Thursday’s blustery but gorgeous weather and took his team outside for practice.

Although he confessed that the team gets more accomplished outside, the windy weather allows the reality of game play into practice. That means the quarterbacks and receivers along with the defense backs and special teams can make adjustments outside.

Help is coming in the form of depth at the point guard position for the Akron Zips.

The Zips announced today that Nyles Evans, a graduate of North Canton Hoover, will join the team from Brevard Community College in Melbourne, Fla where he averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 turnovers per game this past season.

Work continues at the Stile Athletics Field House with some good news on the offensive side of the ball:

Offense: It’s as if the dam sprung a leak for the offense today. There were actually plays down the field to wide receivers in today’s practice, as senior Jerrod Dillard, sophomore Andrew Pratt made some nice grabs today. Junor L.T. Smith joined them. Part of the problem with the offense has been with injuries to the receiving corps. That still doesn’t explain the noticeable lack of production this spring from Dillard and Pratt.

Day 6 of the Akron Zips spring practice showed that the offense is still very much a work in progress and likely will be into the beginning of summer practice. The best way to describe the performance of the assorted units is uneven. They did some good things and they did some not so good things as the team endured another half scrimmage.

Practice changes: Bowden said that he and his staff may have to rethink the way they do things with respect to practices and workouts. Right now, four players – Imani Davis (wide receiver), Keith Sconiers (wide receiver), Dee Frieson (wide receiver) and Hakeem Lawrence (running back) – are all nursing sore hamstrings.

Although the Akron Zips lost two significant players - Kurt Mangum and Troy Gilmer – from its linebackers corps from last season, there’s reason to hope that overall it may be a position of strength for the team.

Currently, juniors Justin March and Nick Rossi along with sophomore Jatavis Brown are working out with the first team in the first week of spring practice.